CHAPTER III



A MEETING OF MYSTERY


A rather attractive-looking, though over-dressed, young
woman was dining in a second-rate chop-house in London. She
was noticeable, not so much for her fine figure and coarsely
beautiful face as for the size and appearance of her
companion, a large, well-proportioned man in the
mid-twenties, with such a tremendous beard that it gave him
the appearance of hiding in ambush. He stood fully three
inches over six feet.  His shoulders were broad, his chest
deep, and his hips narrow.  His physique, his carriage,
everything about him, suggested indubitably the trained
athlete.

The two were in close conversation, a conversation that
occasionally gave every evidence of bordering upon heated argument.

"I tell you," said the man, "that I do not see what we need
of the others.  Why should they share with us--why divide
into six portions that which you and I might have alone?"

"It takes money to carry the plan through," she replied,
"and neither you nor I have any money. They have it and they
will back us with it--me for my knowledge and you for your
appearance and your strength. They searched for you,
Esteban, for two years, and, now that they have found you, I
should not care to be in your shoes if you betrayed them.
They would just as soon slit your throat as not, Esteban, if
they no more than thought they couldn't use you, now that
you have all the details of their plan. But if you should
try to take all the profit from them--"

She paused, shrugging her shoulders.  "No, my dear, I love
life too well to join you in any such conspiracy as that."

“But I tell you, Flora, we ought to get more out of it than
they want to give. You furnish all the knowledge and I take
all the risk--why shouldn't we have more than a sixth
apiece?"

"Talk to them yourself, then, Esteban," said the girl, with
a shrug, "but if you will take my advice you will be
satisfied with what you are offered. Not only have I the
information, without which they can do nothing, but I found
you into the bargain, yet I do not ask it all--I shall be
perfectly satisfied with one-sixth, and I can assure you
that if you do not muddle the thing, one-sixth of what you
bring out will be enough for any one of us for the rest of
his natural life."

The man did not seem convinced, and the young woman had a
feeling that he would bear watching. Really, she knew very
little about him, and had seen him in person only a few
times since her first discovery of him some two months
before. upon the screen of a London cinema house in a
spectacular feature in which he had played the role of a
Roman soldier of the Pretorian Guard.

Here his heroic size and perfect physique had alone entitled
him to consideration, for his part was a minor one, and
doubtless of all the thousands who saw him upon the silver
sheet Flora Hawkes was the only one who took more than a
passing interest in him, and her interest was aroused, not
by his histrionic ability, but rather because for some two
years she and her confederates had been searching for such a
type as Esteban Miranda so admirably represented. To find
him in the flesh bade fair to prove difficult of
accomplishment, but after a month of seemingly fruitless
searching she finally discovered him among a score of extra
men at the studio of one of London's lesser producing
companies.  She needed no other credentials than her good
looks to form his acquaintance, and while that was ripening
into intimacy she made no mention to him of the real purpose
of her association with him.

That he was a Spaniard and apparently of good family was
evident to her, and that he was unscrupulous was to be guessed by the celerity with which he agreed to take part in
the shady transaction that had been conceived in the mind of Flora Hawkes, and the details of which had been perfected by
her and her four confederates.  So, therefore, knowing that
he was unscrupulous, she was aware that every precaution
must be taken to prevent him taking advantage of the
knowledge of their plan that he must one day have in detail,
the key to which she, up to the present moment, had kept
entirely to herself, not even confiding it to any one of her
four other confederates.

They sat for a moment in silence, toying with the empty
glasses from which they had been drinking. Presently she
looked up to find his gaze fixed upon her and an expression
in his eyes that even a less sophisticated woman than Flora
Hawkes might readily have interpreted.

"You can make me do anything you want, Flora," he said, "for
when I am with you I forget the gold, and think only of that
other reward which you continually deny me, but which one
day I shall win."

"Love and business do not mix well," replied the girl. "Wait
until you have succeeded in this work, Esteban, and then we
may talk of love."

"You do not love me," he whispered, hoarsely. "I know--I
have seen--that each of the others loves you.  That is why
I could hate them.  And if I thought that you loved one of
them, I could cut his heart out. Sometimes I have thought
that you did--first one of them and then another.  You are
too familiar with them, Flora.  I have seen John Peebles
squeeze your hand when he thought no one was looking, and
when you dance with Dick Throck he holds you too close and
you dance cheek to cheek. I tell you I do not like it,
Flora, and one of these days I shall forget all about the
gold and think only of you, and then something will happen
and there will not be so many to divide the ingots that I
shall bring back from Africa. And Bluber and Kraski are
almost as bad; perhaps Kraski is the worst of all, for he is
a good-looking devil and I do not like the way in which you
cast sheep's eyes at him."

The fire of growing anger was leaping to the girl's eyes.
With an angry gesture she silenced him.

"What business is it of yours, Senor Miranda, who I choose
for my friends, or how I treat them or how they treat me?  I
will have you understand that I have known these men for
years, while I have known you for but a few weeks, and if
any has a right to dictate my behavior, which, thank God,
none has, it would be one of them rather than you."

His eyes blazed angrily.

"It is as I thought!" he cried. "You love one of them."  He
half rose from the table and leaned across it toward her,
menacingly.  "Just let me find out which one it is and I
will cut him into pieces!"

He ran his fingers through his long, black hair until it
stood up on end like the mane of an angry lion. His eyes
were blazing with a light that sent a chill of dread through
the girl's heart. He appeared a man temporarily bereft of
reason--if he were not a maniac he most certainly looked
one, and the girl was afraid and realized that she must
placate him.

"Come, come, Esteban," she whispered softly, there is no
need for working yourself into a towering rage over nothing.
I have not said that I loved one of these, nor have I said
that I do not love you, but I am not used to being wooed in
such fashion.  Perhaps your Spanish senoritas like it, but I
am an English girl and if you love me treat me as an English
lover would treat me.

"You have not said that you loved one of these others--no,
but on the other hand you have not said that you do not love
one of them--tell me, Flora, which one of them is it that
you love?"

His eyes were still blazing, and his great frame trembling
with suppressed passion.

"I do not love any of them, Esteban," she replied, "nor, as
yet, do I love you. But I could, Esteban, that much I will
tell you.  I could love you, Esteban, as I could never love
another, but I shall not permit myself to do so until after
you have returned and we are free to live where and how we
like. Then, maybe--but, even so, I do not promise."

"You had better promise," he said, sullenly, though
evidently somewhat mollified. "You had better promise,
Flora, for I care nothing for the gold if I may not have you
also."

"Hush," she cautioned, "here they come now, and it is about
time; they are fully a half-hour late."

The man turned his eyes in the direction of her gaze, and
the two sat watching the approach of four men who had just
entered the chop-house. Two of them were evidently
Englishmen--big, meaty fellows of the middle class, who
looked what they really were, former pugilists; the third,
Adolph Bluber, was a short, fat German, with a round, red
face and a bull neck; the other, the youngest of the four,
was by far the best looking. His smooth face, clear
complexion, and large dark eyes might of themselves have
proven sufficient grounds for Miranda's jealousy, but
supplementing these were a mop of wavy, brown hair, the
figure of a Greek god and the grace of a Russian dancer,
which, in truth, was what Carl Kraski was when he chose to
be other than a rogue.

The girl greeted the four pleasantly, while the Spaniard
vouchsafed them but a single, surly nod, as they found
chairs and seated themselves at the table.

"Hale!" [cried] Peebles, pounding the table to attract the
attention of a waiter, "let us 'ave hale."

The suggestion met with unanimous approval, and as they
waited for their drink they spoke casually of unimportant
things; the heat, the circumstance that had delayed them,
the trivial occurrences since they had last met; throughout
which Esteban sat in sullen silence, but after the waiter
had returned and they drank to Flora, with which ceremony it
had long been their custom to signalize each gathering, they
got down to business.

"Now," cried Peebles, pounding the table with his meaty
fist, "'ere we are, and that's that! We 'ave everything,
Flora--the plans, the money, Senor Miranda--and are jolly
well ready, old dear, for your part of it.

"How much money have you?" asked Flora. "It is going to take
a lot of money, and there is no use starting unless you have
plenty to carry on with."

Peebles turned to Bluber.  "There," he said, pointing a
pudgy finger at him, "is the bloomin' treasurer. 'E can tell
you 'ow much we 'ave, the fat rascal of a Dutchman."

Bluber smiled an oily smile and rubbed his fat palms
together. "Vell," he said, "how much you t'ink, Miss Flora,
ve should have?"

"Not less than two thousand pounds to be on the safe side,"
she replied quickly.

"Oi! Oi!" exclaimed Bluber. "But dot is a lot of money--
two t'ousand pounds. Oi! Oi!"

The girl made a gesture of disgust.  "I told you in the
first place that I wouldn't have anything to do with a bunch
of cheap screws, and that until you had enough money to
carry the thing out properly I would not give you the maps
and directions, without which you cannot hope to reach the
vaults, where there is stored enough gold to buy this whole,
tight, little island if half that what I have heard them say
about it is true.  You can go along and spend your own
money, but you've got to show me that you have at least two
thousand pounds to spend before I give up the information
that will make you the richest men in the world."

"The blighter's got the money," growled Throck.  "Blime if I
know what he's beefin' about."

"He can't help it," [growled] the Russian, "it's a racial
characteristic; Bluber would try to jew down the marriage
license clerk if he were going to get married."

"Oh, vell," sighed Bluber, "for vy should we spend more
money than is necessary? If ve can do it for vone t'ousand
pounds so much the better."

"Certainly," snapped the girl, "and if it don't take but one
thousand, that is all that you will have to spend, but
you've got to have the two thousand in case of emergencies,
and from what I have seen of that country you are likely to
run up against more emergencies than anything else."

"Oi! Oi!" cried Bluber.

"'E's got the money all right," said Peebles, "now let's get
busy."

"He may have it, but I want to see it first," replied the
girl.

"Vat you t'ink; I carry all dot money around in my pocket?"
cried Bluber.

"Can't you take our word for it?" grumbled Throck.

"You're a nice bunch of crooks to ask me that," she replied,
laughing in the face of the burly ruffians.  "I'll take Carl's word for it, though; if he tells me that you have it,
and that it is in such shape that it can, and will, be used
to pay all the necessary expenses of our expedition, I will
believe him."

Peebles and Throck scowled angrily, and Miranda's eyes
closed to two narrow, nasty slits, as he directed his gaze
upon the Russian. Bluber, on the contrary, was affected not
at all; the more he was insulted, the better, apparently, he
liked it.  Toward one who treated him with consideration.
or respect he would have become arrogant, while he fawned
upon the hand that struck him.  Kraski, alone, smiled a
self-satisfied smile that set the blood of the Spaniard
boiling.

"Bluber has the money, Flora," he said; "each of us has
contributed his share.  We'll make Bluber treasurer, because
we know that he will squeeze the last farthing until it
shrieks before he will let it escape him.  It is our plan
now to set out from London in pairs."

He drew a map from his pocket, and unfolding it, spread it
out upon the table before them. With his finger he indicated
a point marked X. "Here we will meet and here we will equip
our expedition.  Bluber and Miranda will go first; then
Peebles and Throck.  By the time that you and I arrive
everything will be in shape for moving immediately into the
interior, where we shall establish a permanent camp, off the
beaten track and as near our objective as possible. Miranda
will disport himself behind his whiskers until he is ready
to set out upon the final stage of his long journey. I
understand that he is well schooled in the part that he is
to play and that he can depict the character to perfection.
As he will have only ignorant natives and wild beasts to
deceive it should not tax his histrionic ability too
greatly."  There was a veiled note of sarcasm in the soft,
drawling tone that caused the black eyes of the Spaniard to
gleam wickedly.

"Do I understand," asked Miranda, his soft tone belying his
angry scowl, "that you and Miss Hawkes travel alone to X?"

"You do, unless your understanding is poor," replied the
Russian.

The Spaniard half rose from the table and leaned across it
menacingly toward Kraski. The girl, who was sitting next to
him, seized his coat.

"None of that!" she said, dragging him back into his chair.
"There has been too much of it among you already, and if
there is any more I shall cut you all and seek more
congenial companions for my expedition."

"Yes, cut it out; 'ere we are, and that's that!" exclaimed
Peebles belligerently.

"John's right," rumbled Throck, in his deep bass, "and I'm
here to back him up.  Flora's right, and I'm here to back
her up. And if there is any more of it, blime if I don't
bash a couple of you pretty 'uns," and he looked first at
Miranda and then at Kraski.

"Now," soothed Bluber, "let's all shake hands and be good
friends."

"Right-o," cried Peebles, "that's the talk. Give 'im your
'and, Esteban. Come, Carl, bury the 'atchet. We can't start
in on this thing with no hanimosities, and 'ere we are, and
that's that."

The Russian, feeling secure in his position with Flora, and
therefore in a magnanimous mood, extended his hand across
the table toward the Spaniard. For a moment Esteban
hesitated.

"Come, man, shake!" growled Throck, "or you can go back to
your job as an extra man, blime, and we'll find someone else
to do your work and divvy the swag with."

Suddenly the dark countenance of the Spaniard was lighted by
a pleasant smile. He extended his hand quickly and clasped
Kraski's. "Forgive me," he said, "I am hot-tempered, but I
mean nothing. Miss Hawkes is right, we must all be friends,
and here's my hand on it, Kraski, as far as I am concerned."

"Good," said Kraski, "and I am sorry if I offended you;" but
he forgot that the other was an actor, and if he could have
seen into the depths of that dark soul he would have
shuddered.

"Und now, dot ve are all good friends," said Bluber, rubbing
his hands together unctuously, vy not arrange for vhen ve
shall commence starting to finish up everyt'ings? Miss
Flora, she gives me the map und der directions und we start
commencing immediately."

"Loan me a pencil, Carl," said the girl, and when the man
had handed her one she searched out a spot upon the map some
distance into the interior from X, where she drew a tiny
circle. "This is O," she said. "When we all reach here you
shall have the final directions and not before."

Bluber threw up his hands. "Oi! Miss Flora, vhat you t'ink,
ve spend two t'ousand pounds to buy a pig in a poke? Oi! Oi!
you vouldn't ask us to do dot? Ve must see everyt'ing, ve
must know everyt'ing, before ve spend vun farthing."

"Yes, and 'ere we are, and that's that!" roared John
Peebles, striking the table with his fist.

The girl rose leisurely from her seat. "Oh, very well," she
said with a shrug. "If you feel that way about it we might
as well call it all off."

"Oh, vait, vait, Miss Flora," cried Bluber, rising
hurriedly. "Don't be ogcited. But can't you see vere ve are?
Two t'ousand pounds is a lot of money, and ve are good
business men. Ve shouldn't be spending it all vit'out
getting not'ings for it."

"I am not asking you to spend it and get nothing for it,"
replied the girl, tartly; "but if anyone has got to trust anyone else in this outfit, it is you who are going to trust
me. If I give you all the information I have, there is
nothing in the world that could prevent you from going ahead
and leaving me out in the cold, and I don't intend that that
shall happen."

"But we are not gonoffs, Miss Flora," insisted the Jew. "Ve
vould not t'ink for vun minute of cheating you."

"You're not angels, either, Bluber, any of you,” retorted the
girl. "If you want to go ahead with this you've got to do it
in my way, and I am going to be there at the finish to see
that I get what is coming to me. You've taken my word for
it, up to the present time, that I had the dope, and now
you've got to take it the rest of the way or all bets are
off. What good would it do me to go over into a bally jungle
and suffer all the hardships that we are bound to suffer,
dragging you along with me, if I were not going to be able
to deliver the goods when I got there? And I am not such a
softy as to think I could get away with it with a bunch of
bandits like you if I tried to put anything of that kind
over on you. And as long as I do play straight I feel
perfectly safe, for I know that either Esteban or Carl will
look after me, and I don't know but what the rest of you
would, too. Is it a go or isn't it?"

"Vell, John, vot do you und Dick t'ink?" asked Bluber,
addressing the two ex-prize-fighters.  "Carl, I know he vill
t'ink vhatever Flora t'inks. Hey? V'at?"

"Blime," said Throck, "I never was much of a hand at
trusting nobody unless I had to, but it looks now as though
we had to trust Flora."

"Same 'ere," said John Peebles.  "If you try any funny work,
Flora--"  He made a significant movement with his finger
across his throat.

"I understand, John," said the girl with a smile, "and I
know that you would do it as quickly for two pounds as you
would for two thousand. But you are all agreed, then, to
carry on according to my plans? You too, Carl?"

The Russian nodded. "Whatever the rest say goes with me," he
remarked.

And so the gentle little coterie discussed their plans in so
far as they could--each minutest detail that would be
necessary to place them all at the O which the girl had
drawn upon the map.